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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	author_n	person_n	write_v	1,696	5	5.4406	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49601	Moral maxims and reflections in four parts / written in French by the Duke of Rochefoucault ; now made English.; Maximes. English	La Rochefoucauld, François, duc de, 1613-1680.; Sablé, Madeleine de Souvré, marquise de, 1599-1678. Maximes et pensées diverses. English.; Ailly, d'. Mixed thoughts.	1694 (1694)	Wing L452; ESTC R16964	65,223	274

them out of any other Motive than that of Interest disguised of Pride and Self-love the best way the Reader can take in my Opinion is to satisfie himself that none of these Maxims concern him in particular and that he alone is excepted from them although they seem to be General After he has done this I dare Answer for him that he will be the first Man that shall Subscribe to the truth of them and what is more believe that they are of mighty benefit to the World in Discovering all the weaknesses and Foibles of Mankind As for what regards the order of these Reflections the Reader will at first view discover that as they are all upon different matters it was in a manner impossible to place them in an exact Method And tho' there are several upon the same Subject it was not judged à propos to place them always one after another for fear of Disgusting the Reader who is generally best entertained with an agreeable Variety A Discourse upon the Reflections or Sentences and Moral Maxims in a Letter to a Friend Sir I Am not able positively to tell you whether the Moral Reflections were Writ by Monsieur De altho the Stile and Manner of them seem to resemble his But give me leave Sir to tell you that upon these occasions I generally disengage my self from popular Reports and 't is enough to make me believe that they do not belong to him because the publick opinion has father'd them upon him Thus I have fairly and ingenuously answer'd your first Question and as for the rest if you had not an absolute Authority over me which I must never Dispute I should wave a farther Examination of them for a man so highly prepossess'd as I am in his esteem for this Work has not that liberty to judge truly of it as is requisite nevertheless since you have been pleased to order it so I will frankly give you my Opinion without any design to set up for a maker of Dissertations or concerning my self with the Person who is supposed to have Writ this Book 'T is easie to discover at first Sight that it was never designed to visit the World but only Writ for the Satisfaction of a Person who in my Opinion does not Aspire to the Glory of being an Author and if it should happen to belong to Monsieur De I can assure you that his Reputation is Established in the World by so many better Titles that he wou'd be no less disturbed to hear that these Reflections are made publick than he was when the Memoirs that were attributed to him were Printed But Sir you need not be informed what a propensity there is in this Age to publish all manner of Novelties and especially those that go under any celebrated Name which of it self is sufficient to recommend them to the World This you know is an undoubted Truth Names alone set a price upon things with those People that are not in a capacity of finding out their intrinsic value The true merit of these Reflections is understood but by a very few People tho 't is certain that abundance of presuming Wou'd-be-Wits pretend to give you their Opinions of them As for my self I don't pretend to have Delicacy and Penetration enough to form a true judgment of them I say Delicacy and Penetration because to qualifie a man for such a Province he must be master both of one and the other and tho it were possible for me to flatter my self that I possessed both these qualities I am inclined to believe that I should find but very few passages in these Reflections to amend I can there discover nothing but a happy Force and Spirit thoughts truly Elevated and Bold a noble turn of Expression accompanied with a certain air of Quality that does not belong to all that have vanity enough to set up for Authors I own indeed there is not that Order and Art in them which one would desire and that a Learned Man who enjoyed a greater share of leisure than our Author's affairs seem to allow him wou'd have thrown them into a better Method But a Man who purely Writes for himself and to divert his mind after the fatigue of other Business who sets down his Thoughts just as they come into his Head does not so religiously observe the niceties of Rules as they who make a profession and business of Writing and hope to get reputation by their Pens Nevertheless this Irregularity has its peculiar Graces and such Graces too as Art can never imitate I don't know whether you will agree with me in this point but tho' I am sure of incurring the Indignation of the Criticks by what I am going to say yet I cannot forbear to affirm to you that as long as I live I shall make no scruple to prefert the easie negligent stile of persons of Condition which has Wit and Spirit in it to the slavish regularity of a Doctor that never conversed with any thing but his Books The more easie and negligent he appeared in whatever he said or did the more agreeably was it received for its natural and simple Air. I borrow this passage out of Tacitus and have set down the Latin in the Margin that if you are so minded you may read it and tho' I am sensible how great a Master you are of that Language yet since this Discourse may possibly reach other hands that are utterly unacquainted with it I shall follow the same conduct when ever I have any occasion to make Citations Now Sir is it not an unquestionable truth that this justness and affectation which is sought after with so much study always carries a certain stiffness and constraint that displeases us And that these Gentlemen who are such slaves to Rules have none of those Beauties where Art disguises it self under the appearances of Nature that happy Talent of Writing easily and nobly or in fine that which Tasso saies of the Palace of Armida Stimi si misto il culto é col negletto Sol naturali gli ornamenti e i siti Di natura arte par che per diletto L' imitatrice sua scherzando imiti In English it runs thus Art in this Beauteous pile can claim no praise Nature alone did the fair Fabrick raise But so well has she copy'd her design That cheated by an Object so Divine We think that Art has follow'd nature's line Thus I have briefly acquainted you with my Sentiments of this Work in general but at the same time am sensible that this is not enough to satisfie you since you request me to answer all those Objections more particularly which you tell me have been urged against it As I remember the first is as follows viz. That these Reflections destroy all the Vertues To which it may be answered That our Author was far from entertaining the least inclinations to destroy them he only pretends to shew that they are seldom to be